The top 10 NFL rookies of the season so far

It's looking like a strong rookie class this year, isn't it?

The top 10 picks of the draft are all largely impressing, justifying their worth, and you can make the argument that each of the big four quarterbacks have shown enough to suggest they have value as NFL starters.

But only one is playing well enough to make this list - a list which includes a lot of first round draft picks, but also dips as low as those picked in the fourth round.

Here are ten players who have made big, immediate impacts on their new franchises - the top rookies of the season through four weeks.

10. Da'Shawn Hand (DT, Detroit Lions)

The interior defensive lineman out of Alabama has immediately solidified his position as an important part of this Lions team. He's been one of the NFL's best run defenders through six weeks and has shown he can put pressure on the quarterback too - he had strip sacks against Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott in his last two games.

Hand's early success in the big leagues is no big surprise - he was graded the number one high school recruit in the whole country back in 2014, ahead of the likes of Myles Garrett, Deshaun Watson and Leonard Fournette. It looks like the Lions got an absolute steal in the fourth round.

9. Mike McGlinchey (T, San Francisco 49ers)

The Niners' run game has been their biggest strength this season. Matt Breida is the league's seventh-top rusher with 430 total yards, and he and Raheem Mostert tore through the Packers defense in their narrow week six defeat in Green Bay.

McGlinchey is a huge part of that success. Pro Football Focus rank him as the ninth best run blocker in the NFL, and he's steadily improving as a pass blocker too. There was nothing he could have done to prevent Jimmy Garoppolo's gutting ACL injury, but he's doing a good job of keeping CJ Beathard protected, allowing just three pressures in the second-year backup's first two games.

8. Calvin Ridley (WR, Atlanta Falcons)

No one has more receiving touchdowns through week six than Ridley, who is making the most of the space he's being allowed as defenses rush around desperately to cover Julio Jones. Ridley has six scores, including three in a huge 146-yard performance against the Saints that entrenched him firmly in Falcons fans' hearts.

In a receiver corps which also includes Jones and Mohamed Sanu, Ridley is going to find a lot of opportunities to get open, and this is also developing into one of the league's best wideout trios.

7. Darius Leonard (LB, Indianapolis Colts)

Leonard has a whopping 62 tackles in his young NFL career. You know who has more this season? Nobody. The 23-year-old linebacker also has four sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and two pass defenses, and has generally been all over the place for the Colts, who must be delighted with their pickup.

Indy were accused of reaching for Leonard when they picked him in the second round in April. No one is saying that now.

6. Jessie Bates III (S, Cincinnati Bengals)

Bates is just 22, but he's already looking like one of the league's best safeties. The second round draft pick out of Wake Forest has racked up 41 tackles and two pass defenses through six games, and also has two picks.

The Bengals defense is allowing a lot of yards and occasionally letting down what is fast becoming one of the NFL's most exciting offenses, but in Bates they've found someone with big play ability who's capable of getting the ball back in Andy Dalton's hands.

5. Saquon Barkley (RB, New York Giants)

There are always question marks when a running back gets taken as high as second in the draft, but just watch that run above and tell me Saquon Barkley isn't an outrageous talent. And hey, the way the Giants are going it looks like they might get another shot at picking a top quarterback next April anyway.

Even behind one of the league's worst offensive lines Barkley has rushed for the sixth most yards in the NFL, and seems to go off on at least one huge play every game. He has a clear ability to make the first (and sometimes second, third, fourth and fifth) man miss, and I can't wait to see him in an offense that makes proper use of its incredibly potent weapons.

4. Denzel Ward (CB, Cleveland Browns)

The Browns should have taken Bradley Chubb with the fourth overall pick. That was the accepted wisdom post-draft and no one even questioned it, yet do you see him on this list now? Ward has more than merited Cleveland's faith in him, showing himself to be a dynamic, hungry cornerback and an excellent complement to Myles Garrett.

Ward is tied for first in the NFL for interceptions with three, which he's returned for a total of 26 yards. He also has a forced fumble, a recovery, and is grading out as Pro Football Focus' fifth best corner in coverage through six weeks. He could even be a steal at number four.

3. Leighton Vander Esch (LB, Dallas Cowboys)

Look at players like Luke Kuechly and Bobby Wagner and you can see the value of a great linebacker. The Cowboys already had Sean Lee, and now they have another stud to go alongside him in what has sneakily become one of the NFL's stingiest defenses.

Vander Esch is a star tackler, and the only linebacker in football who Pro Football Focus ranks above 80 in both run defense and coverage. Dallas maybe didn't intend on giving their first round pick so much game time early doors, in that way Lee's injury-hit season has almost been a blessing.

2. Baker Mayfield (QB, Cleveland Browns)

How can you not love Baker Mayfield? Not only is he proving himself to be the Browns' first good quarterback in approximately 200 years, he's also a leader the rest of this young team can rally around. In Mayfield the Browns finally have their talisman, and a player worth building around.

He's Pro Football Focus' top rated offensive rookie through six weeks, and their ninth-top quarterback overall. Their metrics also make him the third best QB in the league for big plays, making him the perfect blend of competent and exciting. A few Drew Brees comparisons were thrown Mayfield's direction during the draft process, and so far the Oklahoma project is doing a good job of justifying them. There is little higher praise.

1. Derwin James (S, Los Angeles Chargers)

What a player Derwin James is. There were a lot of raised eyebrows when the versatile safety fell to number 17 in the draft, and there are going to be a lot of front offices kicking themselves now they've seen how much hell he can raise on an NFL field.

James can line up at safety, as a cornerback and even as a linebacker, and has the ability to do it all. He's been the league's best safety in terms of getting stops, and has also been lethal when pressuring the quarterback, with 2.5 sacks, three tackles for loss and five QB hits on the season so far.

He has at least five tackles in every game this season, and makes the Chargers defense one of the most watchable units in the league almost on his own. An elite player in the making.